Babysitting
A DBZ Oneshot Fanfic

A/N: Originally posted on the dbzhell tumblr on November 10, 2015 as part of a request prompt. Obviously, this was written well before episode 43 of Super aired, before we saw any true interactions between Goku and baby Pan.

Prompt: Things you said that I wish you hadn't. (Goku & Chi-Chi)

"What?" Goku cried as he hopped off the ground where he had been previously doing pushups, staring desperately at Chi-Chi as she made her way to the front door. "No! Don't leave!"

His wife paused with her hand on the doorknob. "Goku, we're out of sugar," she explained slowly, clearly irritated by his protest. She turned and glared at him, her free hand easily sliding into place on her hip. "I need sugar for dessert. Unless you'd rather do without?"

He instantly gulped and shook his head, dreading the thought of missing out on whatever sweet she had in store – of course, the mere thought of missing out on any of her food was almost unbearable. Her food was the best after all. Goku was almost inclined to let her go, but the sight of the baby monitor on the kitchen counter pushed him forward to speak up. "But Pan's here!"

With a loud sigh Chi-Chi finally dropped her hold on the doorknob. "Yes, I'm aware. She's also asleep, Goku." She shook her head and he couldn't help but cringe upon how exasperated she sounded; he wasn't about to back down, however.

He stood and walked towards her, resisting the urge to clasp his hands together and beg. "What if she wakes up while you're gone, though? What am I suppose to do?"

"Well, I imagine you'd take care of her!" Her voice was rising in volume, not quite shouting but almost there. Not good. "You areher grandfather, after all! Or are you so afraid of babies that you'd rather just let her suffer?"

Goku quickly took a step back, raising his hands in an attempt to placate her. "Yeah, of course! I'm not about to just let her starve or sit around in a dirty diaper!" He was almost offended that she would think that he'd be so cruel, to his own granddaughter no less! He scowled, hands quickly dropping back down to his sides. "And it's not that I'm afraid of her! Its just…she hates me, Chi!"

He winced as she rolled her eyes at him. "Ugh, not this again!" she groaned, hands leaving her waist so she could cross her arms. "Goku, Pan doesn't hate you, she's a baby! She's not even a year old yet, I highly doubt she's even capable of feeling hatred, let alone towards you."

"But she always cries whenever I hold her!" Goku tried not to notice that he had begun to practically whine as he argued with his wife, but he couldn't help it. Pan really didn't seem to like him in the slightest, constantly crying whenever someone passed her off to him, only stopping once she was removed from his embrace. It was rather unnerving for Goku, for it was the first time he had been around a baby who didn't seem to care about him. Granted, he had only ever been around two; the last baby was Trunks, who didn't have much of a problem with anyone (other than Vegeta from time to time). Before that it was Gohan, who simply adored everyone at the time, especially both his parents.

"Babies cry, Goku. For multiple reasons. I doubt it has anything to do with you as a person."

"She never cries like that when you hold her, though!" He pointed an accusing finger towards Chi-Chi. "She's always laughing around you, and Mr. Satan, and Goten, and Bulma, and Gohan, and Videl! I'm the only person!"

His wife's face shifted into a thoughtful expression, giving Goku some hope that she was finally going to believe him. "Hmm, well it is true that she cries a lot more when you're around," she mused, bringing a finger up to lightly tap her chin as she shifted her gaze towards the ceiling. "Maybe she's scared of you?"

Goku balked at the suggestion. Sure, it made sense, more so than being hated at least, but that just brought up another question, "But why? How am I scary?"

"Have you ever seen yourself when you're a Super Saiyan?" Chi-Chi countered, giving him an incredulous look. "It's pretty intimidating! And don't even get me started on Super Saiyan 3."

He frowned. "Goten likes Super Saiyan 3," he mumbled, crossing his arms and pouting at the ground. "It can't be that scary."

"Goten just likes hiding in your hair."

Goku couldn't help but nod his head in agreement, chuckling at the thought. Their youngest certainly did love using his hair as a prime hiding spot whenever he and Trunks were playing hide and seek. Granted, after the first few times Trunks caught on and now always turned to Goku first, but that didn't stop Goten from requesting it.

It wasn't as if he could ever really deny his son whenever he asked. He liked the awed shine that popped up in the boy's eyes when he transformed.

The baby monitor caught his eyes yet again and he sighed, mind returning to the conversation at hand. "Chi, she's never seen me in any of those forms though," he pressed, "how in the world could she be scared of them?"

"Good point." At long last, Chi-Chi relented, her form going slack as she walked up to him and placed a gentle hand onto his shoulder. "Goku, it's ok. Just because she cries now doesn't mean she always will. Kids always seem to warm up to you, and I'm sure you'll end up becoming her favorite grandparent in due time." His brow furrowed at her words and he quickly shook his head.

"Nah, I doubt that. Mr. Satan can buy her anything she wants, and you downright spoil her." To be fair, though, all three of them seemed to be wrapped around the infant's tiny little finger. If it weren't for the constant crying, Goku would probably partake in the same silly games Gohan and Hercule often did, 'fighting' for the girl's affection.

Chi-Chi patted his chest and shook her head, clearly not convinced by his words. She seemed a little hurt by her prediction, and he found himself feeling guilty even though whom children ended up favoring wasn't entirely in his control. "Listen, you know how to take care of babies, and since I only need some sugar I'll be able to take Nimbus and be back before she even wakes up." She smiled brightly up at him and giggled as she poked his nose. "It can't turn out any worse than the first time I left you alone to watch over Gohan."

Goku groaned as he recalled that particular event: Gohan was covered head to toe with ash after crawling into the fireplace (luckily the fire had long been put out, it just hadn't been cleaned yet) and the bathroom and hallway ended up filled with suds after a failed attempt at cleaning him. Their eldest had been a toddler at the time, able to walk on his own, so there was no doubt that things wouldn't turn out nearly as disastrous with Pan.

But he really didn't want to deal with a crying baby. Crying in general made him uncomfortable. And if his granddaughter started he had no way to make her stop until Chi-Chi got back home.

"Why don't I go to the store and you stay here?" he suggested, not getting his hopes too high as he could already see the answer in his wife's eyes before she even opened her mouth.

She scowled, her hands returning to her hips. "No! You'll buy the wrong kind and then spend extra zeni on useless things we don't need!"

One of Goku's hands moved up to rest behind his head as he let out a nervous chuckle. "I don't think food could really count as useless, Chi."

"It does when it spoils your appetite!" She then turned and made it back to the door, not even pausing as she opened it and walked out of their home. "I'll be right back, ok? Nimbus!"

He watched as she hopped onto his trusted yellow cloud and left. With a deep heave of a sigh, he closed the door and moved back to resume his previous workout.

Not four minutes passed before crying resounded from the monitor in the kitchen.